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Marvel unveils black Captain America

The Associated Press

Posted:
07/17/2014 02:51:21 PM MDT

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This photo released by Marvel shows superhero Sam "The Falcon" Wilson. Captain America will be an African-American. Marvel Comics' chief creative officer Joe Quesada says superhero Sam "The Falcon" Wilson will take over as the patriotic Avenger in an upcoming installment of the long-running comic book series. (AP Photo/Marvel)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The new Captain America will be an African-American.

Marvel superhero Sam "The Falcon" Wilson will take over as the patriotic Avenger in an upcoming installment of the long-running comic book series, Marvel Comics chief creative officer Joe Quesada said Wednesday during an appearance on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report."

Wilson first appeared as winged superhero Falcon in 1969 and was one of the first African-American superheroes.

The change will come this November in "All-New Captain America" No. 1. The character was recently portrayed by actor Anthony Mackie in the film "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."

Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort said in a statement that former Captain America Steve Rogers will be a mentor to Wilson as he takes on the new role.

"Steve's spirit is as willing as ever, but his body is no longer up to the task of being Captain America, so he'll employ his skills as the new Cap's remote strategic adviser," Brevoort said. "He'll also tutor Sam in how to throw the shield, a skill that's deceptively difficult for the new Cap to master."

It's not the first time an African-American character has portrayed Captain America in the comics.

Several characters have taken up the shield for Rogers over the 73-year-old history of the character, including an African-American character named Isaiah Bradley in the 2003 series "Truth: Red, White, and Black."

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Marvel has announced several superhero shake-ups this week, including that hammer-wielding Thor will now be portrayed as a woman and Tony "Iron Man" Stark is relocating to San Francisco and releasing a new app.